Gossamer of adumbrated wishes
by Ruka Jaganshi
Summary: A very quick KisaIta drabble - probably too quick for you to see the entire plot, but please comment if you do.


He needed to be cared for badly. He craved for affection like a drowning body craves for air, more and more desperately, taking actions with a growing wildness as time rushes by. The lack of something essential makes you act at random, often resulting in something _foolish_.

Itachi already regretted having thought of it at all, he regretted following life's path to arrive to this point, he regretted having ever been born to this world. He dreaded the minute when they would stop and have time to rest, think, discuss, so he kept his pace, hiding his panting into the large collar, constantly caring that the also exhausted shark-nin could not catch up to him entirely; not that he looked like he was in the mood to converse, but you never knew.

He felt, or just imagined to feel, warm drops leave his body through the wound below his chest, peeking out one by one and being sucked up by the fabric of the coat immediately. The occasional waves of pain made his knees shake and his Sharingan-eyes fill up with tears, but he managed to drown out his whimpering.

Kisame followed his partner obediently like he always did, watching the outlines of the figure in front of him struggle silently for every rash step, waiting for the moment when he would stop finally or fall, so that he could catch his oh-so-light body and take care of his wound while they gather some strength to go on. Itachi stated it was not a big wound and demanded to delay treating it, and Kisame tried to believe his experience that the Uchiha would normally not deny his weakness in front of his partner out of pride. Would he?

Also, Kisame had the assumption that Itachi did not intend to talk about the happenings, but he knew that this fact would not hold the shark-nin back from asking; after all, it was a fundamental question demanding a fundamental answer about a fundamentally unnecessary, stupid, stupid deed.

Itachi understood that they could not walk on forever, and they were already marching in the middle of a moonless, pitch dark forest. He was not sure what he was waiting for – a wonder perhaps, or some random event around them that would distract them from the topic that still felt to linger in the air; but something like this happening would have equaled to a wonder, which did not exist, and so, following a sudden idea out of the blue, Itachi let his tired body fall to the ground. It was not hard to do, his entire pitiful corpse had been craving for this rest for a while now. He heard his name from behind, in a calm, questioning tone, and he prayed silently that Kisame did not see through his childish trick and believed his unconsciousness in the dark.

When the shark-nin did not get an answer, he bent down to the body and lifted it to lay his partner to a more comfortable place. Itachi gritted his teeth to keep his muscles lose and not to groan from the pain, but when the hands felt around his body to check the injury, he choked from the twinge and grabbed the other's wrist to keep it away from the wound. As Kisame felt the rate of the wetness and the body jerking under his touch, he hissed reprovingly and started to unbutton the coat without hesitation. Itachi attempted to stop him, but his shaky fingers were only able to keep a powerless grasp on the other's wrist, and his wordless objecting was ignored.

Kisame, for the first time in this life, was angry with the partner he respected so much, so he did not respond to the muffled groans while he tore the Uchiha's shirt with a kunai to get it off and reveal the human skin glowing dully in the dark. He searched for his bag and managed to get out some bandages without seeing anything father than the tip of his nose.

"Tomorrow, I'll take care of it properly for you if you want." he noted while he produced a quick bonding on the other's chest.

Itachi was glad that his partner could not see his face; he was glad the darkness hid the embarrassment in his eyes and the shivering on his skin. Not a voice was able to leave his dry throat while the other was this close, as close as never again, for Itachi would not let him close tomorrow when the sun came up and he could be seen.

Itachi recorded his partner's withdrawal; lukewarm air filled in the space between them, felt cold for some reason. It was soon replaced with a coat that did not smell like his own, and he was wrapped up into it so that the nightly air could not reach him through any opening. No other noise was heard; the shark-nin lay down somewhere near probably. Through the roaring of tiredness in his head, Itachi wondered how far away he was. He might have as well walked or simply faded away; Itachi did not feel his presence, he did not feel anything in fact, and this loneliness scared him slightly. His voice felt thinner than he expected.

"Kisame?"

"Yes?"

Itachi, for the first time in his life, was glad to hear this voice that usually never stopped talking to him, and he wished he would hear it for a few more minutes now. But he was too tired to think of any proper question.

"I thought you left."

"I don't know why I should, Itachi-san."

He pulled a hand from under the coat and reached out to touch the other's arm with the tip of his fingers; most likely to confirm his presence, or to record the size of the gap between them. Kisame did not ask and Itachi did not think about it.

"Next time" the shark-nin mumbled. "if you need something… _something_, just speak up, please. It would make it a lot easier for both of us. Much easier than seeing you risk your life and trying to solve your private language."

Forgetting to draw back his hand, Itachi closed his eyes and breathed:

"Alright."


End file.
